What has gone before: Before the birth of the sun and the moon, long before she became Galadriel, Artanis was born into the bliss of Valinor. As she comes of age, Fëanor has created strife among the elves, Melkor has murdered an elven king and destroyed the Two Trees, and Artanis and a young exile named Celeborn seek to escape to Middle Earth. In the meantime, Fëanor and his mob have attacked the harbor where Celeborn's ship is docked, stranding them, and Artanis' cousin Celebrimbor needs to decide whose side he's on.
Artanis ran for the quay, but another wave of Noldor ran toward her. An arrow from one of the houses passed less than a hands-breadth from her face, and she finally ducked behind a pile of crates, cursing. Celeborn was no longer beside her, she realized. The Noldor ran past her. She looked around the crates and saw that Fëanor's troops had set fire to the houses on the quay. Bloodied bodies littered the street and the dock.
A group of Noldor with drawn blades kicked down the door of one of the burning houses and charged in. Frantically, she looked around for Celeborn. He'd made it almost to the end of the dock, but two Noldor with swords were menacing him and he was unarmed. She ran toward him, but heard the Noldor on the dock behind her charging back. She turned and realized that she no longer held the sword that she had scavenged earlier; it had been left in the body of the elf she had killed. The Noldor pursuing her did have swords, and were waving them as they ran, their faces obscured by their bizarre helmets. She turned again and bolted for the burning quayside.
At the end of the street, the Noldor were being charged by elves in the livery of the Telerin king, Olwë, carrying billhooks, spears, anything large and sharp that had been available. She tried to circle back towards Celeborn, but Fëanor and a couple of his sons, Curufin and Caranthir, were the way, herding Celeborn back down the dock with their drawn swords.
"Cowards!" a voice shouted behind her. Artanis ducked behind a fallen horse and rider before looking around. Fëanor turned slowly, his sword raised. A massive figure strode between two of the houses, crowned with brilliant white hair. It was Galadhon, Artanis realized, Celeborn's father, the reclusive Teleri prince rumored to be more antisocial than Fëanor himself. He carried some kind of weighted club in one hand, swinging it as he walked. "Try me, will you?" Galadhon roared. "I'm a bit more of a challenge than these poor lubbers."
Curufin grinned. ""No," he declared, "You're even easier." He lifted his free hand and a bright flashing shape sped from it to strike Galadhon in the throat, releasing a spray of blood. The big elf fell, struggled to rise once, and fell again, blood spurting from his neck. Celeborn howled and tried to dive between Curufin and Caranthir, but was struck from behind by Celebrimbor and did not get up. Curufin walked over to Galadhon and removed his blade from the corpse. Helpless to stop them, Artanis huddled down among the bodies.
Celegorm ran up from the battle at the far end of the street. "We've got to get those ships in; they've got us pinned! We've lost too many men!"
"I keep saying..." Celebrimbor began.
"Yes, and it's a fine idea." Fëanor interrupted him. "With their heir gone to the Halls of Mandos, it has become even better." He bent down and hoisted Celeborn's limp form over his shoulder. Much to Artanis' relief, Celeborn seemed to be breathing, although there was blood on his hair and his face. Artanis pried the dead rider's sword from his grasp and waited for them to turn their backs on her.
With loud cries, the knot of battling elves at the far end of the street broke apart and Telerin arrows started flying down the street. Celebrimbor lifted his horn to his lips and blew again. A crowd of armed Teleri began to make their way down the street, firing arrows ahead of them. Artanis ducked back down.
The horn sounded again followed by more cries and the sound of metal striking metal. She looked up again. Fëanor, his sons, and Celebrimbor had retreated down the dock, but more armed Noldor had ridden into the city and were cutting down the Teleri from behind. Several of the burning houses on the quay had collapsed. With a cry of dismay, Artanis sprang up from her hiding place and started after Fëanor.
Hooves thundered down the street behind her. "Artanis!" She whirled around. Fingon loomed above her on his horse, a bloodied sword in his hand. Instinctively, Artanis lifted her sword to block him. He laughed. "It's only me! The Teleri, they've gone mad! One of them tried to hit me with a rolling pin!"
"And you killed him for it, didn't you?! You murdered him!" Artanis' voice seemed strangely shrill to her own ears.
Fingon's look of shock only made her angrier. "Artanis... What's... What are you..."
Maedhros and several other mounted Noldor rode up beside him. "Well done!" Maedhros congratulated his cousin. "We almost had to run for it there. They were really fighting back! And not a sword or a breastplate among 'em! I'm not looking forward to fighting Melkor's troops, I tell you!"
"Hello, Artanis!" Maedhros looked down at her. "Came to help, did you? Did they get your horse?" She stared back at him, wordlessly.
Fëanor, on the dock ahead of them, held Celeborn out over the water by his the back of his tunic. Celeborn hung limply in his grip, his bright silver hair shining in the moonlight. "Bring your ships back in!" Fëanor shouted, "Or I'll drown your prince as you've drowned my men!"
Artanis growled and started to rush towards him, but Celebrimbor called out: "Artanis, no!" Caranthir and Celegorm turned towards her and moved between her and Fëanor.
A voice with a Telerin accent called back from one of the ships. "Ossë can taste our blood in the waves even now! He and Ulmo will avenge us!"
Fëanor laughed loudly and unpleasantly. "Where are they then? Why aren't the Valar and the Maiar here to protect you? Perhaps you just aren't that important to them. Bring those ships in!"
"What-what are you doing?" Fingon's voice was shaking. "Look... uncle. Just pass the boy over here. You can all come back now... We'll sort this out." He began to move towards Fëanor, but Caranthir and Celegorm blocked his way.
Behind them, the remainder of Fëanor's contingent was moving down the dock, many of them being helped or carried by comrades.
Maedhros also interposed himself between Fingon and Fëanor. "Fingon, you'd better get back to the baggage train. Take Artanis with you. Tell them... things got a bit messed up. We'll bring the ships along the shore and get you and the on board up north. Olw's still up on the hill, and he's got more Teleri with him... and they've had plenty of time to plot another ambush."
Celeborn stirred and twitched weakly. Fëanor did not relinquish his hold. Artanis started to push past Celegorm, but Fingon latched onto her arm and called out to Fëanor: "Look, that Teleri kid is in a bad way. Let me bring him, and the others badly wounded back... we've got a couple of good healers just an hour behind us."
"I need him," Fëanor said without turning around. "Unless you've any idea how to sail these ships on the high seas. Or how to navigate 'em. Can't row all the way to Middle Earth." His tone was calm.
Artanis let out a little yelp of rage and lunged towards him, but Maedhros helped Fingon drag her back. Celeborn had manage to lift his head a little and grab on to Fëanor's arm. Artanis could see that Celeborn's eyes were unfocused. Fëanor drew him in and held his bloodied sword to Celeborn's throat.
"Celegorm, secure his hands." Fëanor said smoothly. One of the swan ships drew up to the dock. "Gangplank down!" Fëanor roared at them. "Or the boy will start having even more trouble breathing!" The ship let down its gangplank, and Caranthir and a squad of other Noldor charged aboard.
"Artanis, we've got to go." Fingon tried to push her onto his horse. He muttered, "None of my men are down this far; they're guarding the street. We've got to leave. Listen, he can't kill the kid, he said so himself. Not if he wants to get to Middle Earth. But you know Fëanor, if he thinks he's about to be thwarted... well, you know what he's like. We'll pry the boy free on the other side."
Surrounded by Fëanor's men, more groups arriving from the town as others boarded swan ships, Artanis let Fingon push her onto the horse's back. Fingon jumped up behind her. Celeborn managed to squirm around enough to look at her before Fingon wheeled the horse around and cantered back up the dock.
Clouds boiled up from somewhere, obscuring the stars that were now Valinor's only light, aside from burning houses and torches up on the hill by Olw's palace. Despite Artanis' protests, Fingon would go nowhere near the palace. Instead, he and his men picked their way through town, guided only by such small lights as they could summon themselves. A few blocks from the harbor, Artanis heard a voice calling her name, and tried to struggle free from her cousin's grasp.
"Up there," called one of Fingon's men, pointing. Artanis heart sank as she recognized Galadhon's house, with the door smashed in. Several Noldor lay dead in the street in front of the house, with arrows sticking out of them. Several more lay dead and bloodied on the steps and in the doorway. Galathil leaned out the window. A couple of the Noldor raised their bows and nocked arrows.
"No" Artanis cried out, jumping off the horse and running towards the door.
Swearing, Fingon leapt off behind her. "Hold your fire and stay here!" he roared as he followed her.
Artanis tripped over a body. It was pitch dark inside the house, but it wore a long dress of fine cloth. "Galathil!" she shouted. She heard thumping sounds ahead of her, and then someone ran into her from behind. She yelped and jabbed with her elbow.
"Enough! It's me!" Fingon protested, stepping back.
"Are you there?" called Galathil from further inside the room.
"Follow the wall and head for the door," Artanis told them, doing so herself. "Galathil... don't go in the middle of the room."
They emerged cautiously. Fingon's men had sheathed their swords and lowered their bows, much to Artanis' relief. When Galathil came out behind her, she seized his hand and drew him to her. The boy embraced her, sniffling and gazing fearfully at the Noldor.
"What are we supposed to do with him?" demanded Fingon, glaring down at the young Telerin prince.
"His parents are dead, and his mother's killers," Artanis gestured at the bodies in the doorway, "are wearing your livery under their armor. Unless you want to bring him back to Olwë, I've got to get him back to... my father, I guess."
Artanis realized with a shock that she had no idea if her mother were alright. She had always seen Eärwen as invincible, omnipotent even. But the carnage in Alqualondë was beyond all of her previous experience and imagination. She swallowed hard. "We have to get back to my father," she repeated.
Galathil was too far in shock to ask after his brother and Artanis did not have the strength to speak as they rode back to the main body of the Noldor seeking to migrate to Middle Earth. Rain began to fall and thunder rolled off in the distance. Artanis could see lightning far out to sea.
Finrod was with the riders who rode out to meet them. "What happened?" he demanded.
Fingon shook his head. "Things... went wrong. Really wrong. The Teleri said no... Fëanor didn't want to hear it."
"But the ships," Finarfin began, "I saw them myself. They're just off the coast, heading north..."
"Fëanor stole them. He killed the Teleri and stole them." Artanis snarled.
Finrod stared at her, open-mouthed. "Ossë let..."
"The Valar and the Maiar are probably still chasing Melkor. And I don't know where mother is..." Artanis' tears choked her and she began to sob.
Finrod helped her and Galathil off Fingon's horse. "Couldn't you stop them?" he demanded of Fingon.
Fingon looked back, shamefaced. "When we arrived... Celebrimbor had winded his horn, calling for help, and the Teleri were cutting down Fëanor's people and turned on us. We..."
"Helped Fëanor." Finrod finished grimly. "You idiot."
Fingon hung his head.
Finrod put Artanis and Galathil on his horse and led it back towards the camp. "Some Teleri came looking for you, including one of those raggedy fellows with the timber rafts that we met a few months ago. They're back at camp, waiting."
These were some of Celeborn's mariners, Artanis realized, who had been waiting in Valinor. She nodded and went to meet her father.